The Tijron
"We are the Tijron. We are a pestilence, though we do not act as pests. Instead, we act as allies, but only to those deserving. The Wormhole users are not those who are deserving; they are evil, destructive, and their bloodlust is unquenchable. We shall support all who oppose them; in turn, we expect them to support us." -The Hivemind, on the Tijron. The Tijron are a race of genetically-engineered parasitic organisms which originate from 47-Zeprion-C, the homeworld of a long-dead empire. They are usually dormant, however they can be awakened by wormhole activity or the "trigger frequency". History (Galactus) Origins Centuries ago, a spacefaring empire only known as the Zeprionese was attempting to create a biological superweapon to use against another empire they were at war with. After having observed behaviours of various diseases in their colonies, one particular disease caught their eye. This disease spread by mutating the host violently to make it release spores of the species, while also enhancing combat ability to allow the host to defend itself more easily. The Zeprionese chose to genetically engineer this particular disease, a decision they would come to regret. 2 weeks later, Zeprion was under attack. The Tijron was released to infect the invading vessels prematurely, and it was a massive success, as the parasite's new jelly-like form spread across the hulls with ease and broke in through anything it could. Something the Zeprionese hadn't anticipated, however, was the jelly-like form turning into a white colour. Upon close examination after the battle, it turned out that the Tijron had adapted to draw in all heat from the environment, and use it along with natural functions to sustain and propagate itself. This also had a side effect of disabling whatever technology it found itself on, unless specifically kept active when a datapad didn't stop functioning. However, after the battle, there was also another unprecedented event; an outbreak. The Tijron had managed to enter an isolated part of the ecosystem while the Zeprionese had been busy with the invaders. While initially unaware of the Tijron presence in the ecosystem, they quickly learned of the hive that the Tijron were constructing. While this was an invasive species, and in turn a disease, they simly quarantined the area around the hole that lead to the hive and moved on. After 3 months, there was another battle above Zeprion. They employed the use of the Tijron again, and again it proved effective. This time, the Tijron crashed the ships around the quarantine zone, leading the Zeprionese to become suspicious. When the Zeprionese investigated, they found that the ships were completely devoid of all personnel. This was the same as the prior battle, though they found that the personnel there had been converted into biomass. Merely 2 weeks after this, settlements started being devoid of life. The Zeprionese initially thought this to be covert ops from their enemies, but they eventually learned that this was the Tijron's doing when an entire city disappeared into a nearby hole. However, at this point, it was too late. The Tijron had a planet-wide hive, and eventually launched an assault on the surface. While the Zeprionese put up a fight, the Tijron had grounded all spacecraft and downed the remainder of the Zeprionese fleet that attempted to defend it. After 27 hours, Zeprion's last military garrison fell, and the planet was considered lost. Since it was the last Zeprionese planet, the Zeprionese were considered destroyed. The Tijron then entered a state of dormancy which would last for centuries. The Awakening First encounters In 2437 CE, the Tijron were awakened by frequent wormhole activity. Soon enough, they were visited by 2 empires. The first of these were the Athrotic. When they came down, they initially didn't get any response from the hive. However, when they set up research cameras, they were quickly attacked by the Zeprionese Tijron. While they managed to escape, this wouldn't be forgotten by either the Athrotic or the Tijron. The second race to discover them were the Zelians. The Zelians, unlike the Athrotic, managed to reach the Hivemind by interacting with the Ambassador. After a brief conversation, the Zelians left. After a while, they came back with their leader, Blipsnorf. This was another short conversation, as Blipsnorf had only arrived to check that the Tijron were real. Destruction of 47-Zeprion-C As the Tijron gained access to a radio, they tuned into Xeno 101 Radio station, where they heard that a Pakoph had just gotten on a killing spree. Suddenly, the reporter's voice was drowned out by a series of strange signals, as well as a bunch of unrecognisable symbols. In response, the Tijron sent out one of the old vessels to investigate. Suddenly, a wormhole opened, and a swarm of ships, as well as a massive, destroyer-like ship, came out. The hivemind decided to launch all ships on the planet in random directions, allowing the Tijron to live on. Interceptors tried to hunt them down, but ultimately failed. As the ships got out of the system, the destroyer aimed at the star, and fired at it, causing a supernova. As the ships retreated into the wormhole, one Tijron individual had gone EVA grabbed onto one of the interceptors. The near-successful Infection The Tijron individual stayed on the interceptor's hull as it entered the wormhole. The Tijron had adapted to become purely coolant, as the hull of the interceptor was extremely warm, since the species inside it had to live at those temperatures. After a lot of digging, it broke into the ship and started making its way towards the drive room. Once there, it vomited on the creature in there before being killed. The vomited coolant weakened the creature significantly, however it dumped itself in lava before the Tijron could take over its body. The Kroxaltian Counterattack Meanwhile, the Tijron had reached the planet of Kroxalt, due to a careless space-trucker. The Tijron had reached Stage 3 infestation when the Kroxaltians eventually realised that there was a hive on their planet that they knew what the Tijron was. Several empires went to investigate the hole. The first race to find the Tijron were the Zelians. The Zelians, remembering the Tijron, went into the tunnels to find the Hivemind. After several minutes, they did so. At the same time, a human probe found the hive, and went inside to explore. The Zelians had a brief conversation with the Hivemind before leading, saying that if they didn't that "Blipsnorf would think they were killed". Then, a Nomid by the name of "Timmy" found the hole. Considering that Timmy's tribe had been taken by the Tijron, Timmy was afraid. Timmy entered the tunnel anyway, walking by the Zelians. He was scared and disturbed by the appearance of the tunnels, but continued down them. His fear was worsened when an ambassador popped out in front of him. After a time of so many events that it's too hard to record, the Cortex attacked the hive, triggering it. Initially, the hive just attacked all individuals those attempting to stop the Cortex in the hive, however, to no avail. The Tijron then assaulted all major cities on the surface, using both Tijron-spawned megafauna Rampagers and the native megafauna as siege weaponry. Millions were slaughtered, and the Kroxalrian military was taken aback by the sudden assault, leading to many losses of their own. After a while, the Cortex released a massive sound wave, rupturing and killing most Tijron material on the planet. The only Tijron left was the Hivemind. It was clinging on to life, hoping to speak with the Kroxaltians. Soon, Timmy went out of hiding, being right outside of the Hivemind's now-slowly-crumbling cavern. The Hivemind noticed Timmy, and out of anger, it berated him, saying the following; "You... You...hide... why...? You...could have saved....millions... Yet.... you hide.... You hide... like a coward.... You are weak.... Nothing more... Though.... You may as well be less...." Eventually, Timmy climbed on top of the Hivemind, taking off a shoe. He threw it into the Hivemind's eye, and pushed it inside. The Hivemind reared up, screeching in pain, before collapsing again. Its body then dissolved into liquid. The Kroxaltian hive was therefore destroyed. Colonisation of Frijank While the events on Kroxalt had been happening, the Zelians had spread the Tijron to a planet in Triumverate alliance space named 56-Frijank-B. They had been on Frijank for about 2 weeks when the Hivemind on Kroxalt was killed by Timmy. Due to the lack of a more suitable organism, the primitive Deity on Frijank was selected to become a Hivemind. Soon, a coolant turret was spawned on the planet's surface. Then another. Then another. This sequence occurred for a while. First Battle of Frijank Main Article: First Battle of Frijank The First Battle of Frijank was the first time that the Tijron defeated the Zorkans. It saw the use of coolant to bring down Zorkan ships, and the successful infestation of a Zorkan. Many Zorkans died, and the surface of 56-Frijank-B was devastated. Tjir's Arrival at Eddy's Main Article: Tjir 4 days after the First Battle of Frijank, an assault form arrived at Eddy's Galactic Gas Station. It was a sterile assault form, sent to Eddy's as an assistant to make up for previous events. It stood behind Eddy's counter, silent. It was disturbed by an event, then just stood there without a move. Eventually, it made conversation with Eddy, which entailed discussion about Tjir's former life before going to Eddy's. It also lead to Tjir naming himself. Second Battle of Frijank Main article: Second Battle of Frijank The Second Battle of Frijank was yet another Tijron victory over the Zorkans. However, unlike the first battle, the Zorkans were pushed back due to problems elsewhere, rather than the Tijron outright defeating them. Even more Zorkans died, and the surface of 56-Frijank-B was destroyed even more. Colonisation of Achkt Main article: Achkt One day, a Tijron-infested ship happened to drift by a seemingly dead planet. They landed in an area away from a population, though they quickly stumbled across the only native species; one whose body is covered in a cloak. After some infecting, the Tijron got suspicious about a particularly large tower and started excavating deep underground. They stumbled across a large cave system, seemingly bottomless. However, they eventually reached the bottom, and started making tower-like structures in the cavern. Soon enough, the natives abandoned the planet, and the Tijron just colonised it, making a new ecosystem and restoring life to the planet. Hexian Assault on Kroxalt The Assault The Hexians, a race of mechanical/biological beings, invaded Kroxalt some time after. It was during the imperial coronation on Kroxalt, so officials from the Kroxaltians' allies many from the [[Commonwealth of Stars|Commonwealth]] were present. When the attack commenced, the capital city was immediately assaulted. Some time into the assault, the Tijron-infested interceptor from the First Battle of Frijank appeared in the system. It flew over to Kroxalt, avoiding fire from the Kroxaltian ships mistook it for actual Zorkans, and shot down a Tijron pod to the surface, near the capital city. The pod was shot by a federation ship, though it just split up and reformed again before crashing into the surface. Out of the impact crater grew a Tijron Coolant Tree, which immediately started firing at the Hexians. The Hexians were frozen, and after the Tijron couldn't manipulate their bodies, they decided to grow trees around them. This process continued until the Hexians retreated. After the Hexian retreat, the Kroxaltians attempted to exterminate the Tijron forest. After failing, they decided to just contain it by placing a dome over it. The Return to Dormancy Some time after the attack on Kroxalt, due to a lack of wormhole usage in the galaxy, the Tijron returned to dormancy. This had mixed reactions, from surprise to indifference. This dormancy would last a few weeks, until the Zorkans returned. Beginning of The Galactic Flesh On the asteroid-based facility known as Falon-3, there was a Tijronic presence, brought there by the Hermonous for research purposes. Due to the discovery of the research being conducted there (which was frankly against international law), Falon-3 was abandoned. The Tijron eventually took over the facility, infesting all but one room. This room had an abandoned Athrotic named Enecit in it. The Tijron offered him control over the Tijron there, and he accepted. They started growing a Spacefarer, so that they could reach and "colonise" a planet. In the meantime, they had Enecit name this new faction of TIjron, and he named it The Galactic Flesh. Eventually, the Spacefarer was completed, and they set off to the planet of Estolia. The Third Battle of Frijank Main Article: Third Battle of Frijank After the Tijron re-awakened due to Zorkan activity in the galaxy, the Zorkans started targeting the Frijank system. The battle started off as scattered Zorkan raids until there was a full-on assault. The battle was a stalemate for at least 2 weeks before the Tijron finally got the upper hand and pushed them back. (wip) Biology The Tijron reproduce via spores, or just general mitosis in the jelly-like structures on hive walls. Tijron reproduction rates are highly variable, and are generally controlled by the hivemind. Adaptability The Tijron can alter its own genetic code in some aspects to be able to adapt to new environments quickly. An example of this taking place is when a Tijron enters a Zorkan ship, of which then it turns the normal "jelly" in its body into coolant. This is both to survive the extreme temperatures, and to also neutralise and infect the Zorkan once the Tijron reaches it. The Tijron can also change their body structure when it is required; for example, if an assault form must carry something, it will grow another pair of arms with hands to hold the object. Infection Process The Tijron can infect in three ways; the inhalation of spores, bodily fluid transferal or physical contact with non-sterile "jelly". In the case of spore inhalation, the Tijron will first infest the respiratory system, where it forces itself into the individual's bloodstream. From there, it uses the circulatory system to infect all areas of the body. Once all over the body, it then taps into the individual's nervous system, connecting them telepathically to the Hivemind there is one. The Hivemind can stop the body from physically mutating, and will make the individual completely ignore its infected status. It will then force the body to produce Tijron spores, which are then stored in the cells until they either die or they release the spores necessary. In the case of transferal of bodily fluids, how the infection takes place depends on where the infection gets in. If it first enters the bloodstream transfusion, then the process is quite similar to infection through spores. If it first enters through the reproductive system more likely in females, either the spores will force themselves through the body by making the cells produce and release spores into other cells, or the offspring will infect the mother upon birth offspring would be born infected. If it enters through the mouth whatever means that would be, then it will infect the oral cavity and move on from there. In the case of infection by jelly, the infection process is considerably more violent. The jelly will spread over the individual and enter through whatever opening it can. This form of infection is the ''only ''way the Tijron can infect Zorkans. This form of infection also causes frequent mutations, whether it be spore chimneys, eyes, limbs, etc. Once infected, the individual either stays mutated or loses the Tijron outer layer in favour of infiltration. In the case of a Zorkan infection, the jelly will break into the body through the eyes. Replication An ability of the Tijron is that they can replicate the properties of any material and apply them to biological materials of their own. This has allowed them to adapt keratin to be bulletproof and somewhat resistant to energy weapons, as well as making extremely tough teeth the case of Diggers. They can also use this to disguise themselves as various objects; they can imitate the properties of plastics, ceramics, glass, etc. The Tijron can also replicate schematics, meaning that they can make biological equivalents to things like engines, thrusters, etc. They have used this ability in the Spacefarer form; the Spacefarer form has biological equivalents of ftl engines, thrusters and technically a ventilation system. Tjir has used the ability to replicate to make clothing and also create a functioning recharge pod. Tijron Forms * The Lord of Tiyunjarr * Ethereal Hivemind * Divine Hivemind * Hivemind * Deity * Zorkan/Pilot Form * Spacefarer Form Hive * Spacefarer Form Large * Spacefarer Form Medium * Spacefarer Form Small * Spacefarer Form Colonial * Hive Guard Flying * Hive Guard Tunnel * Mobile Turret Form * Charger Form * Digestion Form * Rampage Form * Injector Form * Assault Form * Lifter Large * Lifter Hive * Feeder Form Large * Feeder Form Small * Vomiter * Digger * Nibbler * Ambassador Tijron Structures * Hive Planet * Hive Ecosystem * Hive Towers * Hive Fortress * Turret Orbital * Turret Ground-to-orbit * Turret Ground * Turret Hive * Spore Spire * Tree Coolant * Tree Nutritional * Spawn Pod Category:Species Category:Tijron Category:Tijron Pestilence Category:The Galactic Flesh